Inside of a venom research lab called Agritoxins in St. Cloud, Jack Facente pulled a rattlesnake out of a barrel and placed it on the table for WESH 2 to view.
His lab, a state-approved facility on land becoming increasingly surrounded by the familiar clusters of new housing, is home to a variety of breeds of venomous and non-venomous snakes.
Facente was joined by Jason Compton, the founder of snake identification app SnakeSnap who openly admits he, like so many in society, was once deathly afraid of snakes.
“The more educated you are, the less fear you have," Compton said. "Snakes like to eat, they like to sleep and they like to mate. That’s what they’re there to do, they’re not there to chase people.”
Their stated mission is threefold: to spread awareness of the positive benefits of snake venom research, to warn people of increases in snake encounters as the region continues to develop, and to educate on the reality that snakes are not inherently aggressive creatures, particularly toward humans.
"There’s subdivisions everywhere. They’re bulldozing, they’re getting rid of all the habitat," Facente lamented. "This is a Central Florida issue. I think there’s probably going to be more snake bites in the next year or two as this development continues to drive them out and make them more active.”
There are four main types of venomous snakes in Florida:
- Pygmy rattlesnake (a smaller version of the Eastern Diamondback)
- Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake (the snake most people think of, large with a loud rattle)
- Cottonmouths (also known as water moccasins)
- Coral snakes (red and yellow pattern)
A bite from any of the first three will almost immediately burn and cause swelling.
But a bite from the coral snake can take longer to show symptoms, anywhere from two to 18 hours, Facente said.
If you're bitten by any venomous snake, which can be identified using SnakeSnap, the best course of action is to go to a hospital immediately and ensure hospital staff contact the Florida Poison Control Center.
“A snake is not going to chase you. The snake doesn’t want to bite you," Facente said. "The venom is a digestion process. The snakes don’t chew, they swallow their prey whole.”
“If you don’t pick them up or you don’t try to kill them, then your chance of being bit almost goes to nothing,” Facente said.
Facente, one of three people in the state of Florida who extracts venom to send to pharmaceutical companies and research organizations, said the work is rewarding, especially when he sees it being used to create treatments for things like cancer and dementia.
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